By-Tor

I would have chosen the Cousteau orange, or the black/yellow version over this. Not because they're classier (they certainly aren't) but I'm a fan of crispy colors. But of course, black is the classic, safe and conservative choice. Natural choice for the 40+ guys.

Great review, and nice pics (as usual). I'm glad that you finally received this long-awaited watch. For you this was probably like the Aquaracer Chrono for me. Enjoy my friend!

Great shots TWP!!! Switched to the GMT for Sunday.

New photo.

Is it a keeper? Well... if you don't want to keep that ugly watch I can put you out of your misery and buy it. Seriously, it looks fantastic. They don't make GMT's like this anymore. PS: Fixed your second photo. You forgot to add another img tag.

@Gio: I can't say I like this dial, either. This same Ebay store sells a lot of replacement Rolex dials. I was curious if you think that this "ivory" dial has been constructed from a standard white ExpII dial. The real "Ivory" version is quite sought after among the hardcore collectors.

What do you think? Bidding stars at $9000. I've heard about this model, but never seen it offered before. I've seen photos of the "Ivory" version before, and this dial looks different. http://tinyurl.com/39vsjj

No worries guys. This doesn't concern our suppliers. Those Hublots are either quartz of faux versions.

Amazing watch. I'm planning to get a gen next year too. I too, like the newer 16710, because of the super luminova. The old ones have tritium dials, and those will lose almost all their luminous abilities after a while. Make sure you post a lot of pics when this beauty arrives! Edit: Actually yours will have the Tritium dial as well (see the markings Swiss<T25). Not a big deal though.

Possibly. But I never take any of my watches to water, reps or gens. People have ruined their expensive gens with water, including hardcore diver watches. TZ has a lot of these stories. Not worth it, imho. Crown is usually the weakest link on watches, and that's where the moisture goes into the case. The screw down crown means that you don't have to worry when you're washing hands, etc. There's probably some dirt between the case and bezel. Drop just a little bit (a few small tips) of sewing machine oil there and keep rotating it. I'm sure it'll loosen eventually. PS: I'll show the pics to her. Thanks.

Moved my reply here from the wrist check thread. Nice TAG Vic! Apparently they have enlarged the bracelet (which is good). Lots of people complained that the old one didn't fit on their gf's/wives. It was really small. It's not completely the same watch as my gf's. Yours has some subtle differences, like larger crown, different date window, dial and pearl. But very nice, either way. I suspect yours has a screw-down crown, which is definitely a plus. Enjoy! PS: The bezel should definitely turn counter-clockwise. Is yours stuck?

The Pepsi bezel is legendary and my favorite. Though lately I've been wearing the red/black more. I bought 2 GMT's just because of this endless dilemma. But then again, the all black version leaves me completely cold.

Am I the only one who's not too crazy about this new "ceramic" GMT? The Pepsi GMT has history, traditions and certain "aura", which is lacking from this one (imho). Green GMT hand, wtf?! This is a nice looking watch though, I'm not denying that. But... Maybe I'm just conservative, but I'll stick to the old ones. Yeah, mine has wrong stack. But other than that the rep ain't too shabby...

Looks the same to me as well.

The most annoying problem with MBW 1680 dial is the red SUBMARINER font, which is completely wrong... and looks nothing like the gen. I'd go for the white version myself. There's a lot of variation and it's much more difficult dial to "call out".

Visually it looks exactly the same watch to me (save the crown position).

The day changes around 2am, it's normal. Never set the day or date between 10pm and 2am. Also, always try to reset the stopwatch when the stopwatch seconds hand is near '12 (just over it). This reduces the risk of its "slipping". The power reseve is an individual thing. On some 7750 I've had very long PR, on some others much shorter. It's a luck of a draw, really. The stopwatch buttons are a bit tight. Very common thing with many 7750-based reps. Just live with it.

100% correct. Orange is more common, but the deep red color is accurate as well.

Oh man... what a beauty! Congrats!!!

Fantastic! Where did you find the gen dial... and how much was it? PS: Remember to post a lot of pics when your watch is done. For some weird reason Explorer II is probably the most underrated sports Rolex among the members. It's a beauty for sure.

It took people over six months to learn that the Rolex threads belong to the "Rolex Area", instead of "General Discussion". That might be one big factor of its growth as well.

I'm ending this busy week with the franken-Explorer II on my wrist.

Wonderful watch & pics Neil! This sure is a great watch! To me Breguet is the king of watches, and the brand has even more mythical "aura" than Patek. PS: For some reason I always thought Neils watch was Transatlantic chronograph. Dunno why...

Actually Scoobs... the YM in your second picture is the midsize (ladies) version.

Thanks Scoobs. YACHT-MASTER in the first picture looks smaller as well. Actually it looks more like the YM font on the rep. Interesting... PS: Yes, the 21J version has sapphire crystal.